Opera fans are known for their devotion, and it’s a good thing they are. What other art form regularly requires entire buildings to be erected, solely to stage the work of a single composer? Such is frequently the situation confounding anyone who wishes to put on a truly impressive production of Wagner’s infamous Ring cycle. In fact, the composer himself had to convince his benefactor, King Ludwig, to build the famous opera house in Bayreuth before he could stage the first Ring. As Toronto prepares a similar undertaking, William Littler paid a visit to Bayreuth to see how the monument to operatic self-indulgence has held up. Pretty well, as it turns out.
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Forgey: Build It, And They Will Come
“Arena Stage, the 53-year-old godmother of Washington’s lively theater scene, is getting ready to change its architectural personality from introvert to extrovert in one huge, but perhaps not-so-easy, step… Making it happen poses a formidable challenge. The price tag is estimated to be a cool $100 million, exactly 100 times the original cost of Arena’s 42-year-old building at Maine Avenue and Sixth Street SW.” Still, says Benjamin Forgey, the Arena renovation is a crucial project in the District’s ongoing renewal efforts, and architect Bing Thom’s design is deserving of completion.
George Plimpton, 76
“George Plimpton, the New York aristocrat and literary journalist whose career was a happy lifelong competition between scholarly pursuits and madcap attempts — chronicled in self-deprecating prose — to try his hand at glamorous jobs for which he was invariably unsuited, died yesterday at his home in Manhattan. He was 76.”
The Well-Rounded Intellectual
George Plimpton was an icon, but that’s not what makes his life so impressive, says Linton Weeks. What made Plimpton special was the way in which he could effortlessly bridge gaping cultural and societal divides, and in the process, become a respected figure to so many disparate elements of American society. He could hold his own in any intellectual discussion, and yet he had a rollicking sense of humor which is so often lacking in intellectuals. He could relate to the blue-collar nature of the NFL lineman, even as he prepared to lead a panel discussion on the New York literary scene. In short, Plimpton was a man for all seasons, in an era when such figures are increasingly rare.
Battling Piracy, At The Expense Of Oscar?
“The race for this year’s Academy Awards has been thrown off stride by a move by the major Hollywood studios to curb movie piracy. The studios hope to halt the distribution of thousands of DVD and VHS copies of Oscar-contending films to those whose votes decide the winners. Such a move may hurt the Oscar chances of smaller, independent studios, which have come to rely on the videos as a means of getting their films seen by Academy Award voters.”
FINDing Direction
Montreal’s Festival International de Nouvelle Danse gets underway this week, and as usual, there is expected to be plenty of debate over the direction of modern dance, and the efficacy of choreographers who continually push the envelope. “What’s ironic is that FIND is a structured, conventional-style gathering of dancemakers who consciously work against structured conventional thinking.”
Skrowaczewski’s Musical Protest
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski is 80, and looks it. But the wiry little man, who has built a reputation as one of the world’s preeminent composers and conductors, is as full of energy as ever, and his latest symphony, which premieres this week in Minneapolis, has a decidedly angry bent, reflecting his frustration with the current lot of the arts in America. “For Skrowaczewski, the symphony reflects matters both public and private. In a recent conversation at Orchestra Hall, the conductor nearly exploded on hearing the name of President George W. Bush. ‘Stupid! He has spoiled the position of this country for decades,’ he said.”
A Nation Of Artists Divided
In his short time in power, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has led his country in what some call a leftist revolution, and what others call a needless class war. As clashes between Chávez supporters and opponents intensify, the nation’s artists have found themselves in unexpected conflict with each other. “Once faithfully leftist and mostly detached from political life, Venezuela’s modern art community is now deeply divided over Chávez and his populist program. A new brand of political art has emerged in Caracas, produced by acclaimed painters best known for vast abstract canvases and murals. In recent months, the protest that has played out in a haze of tear gas has become clearly visible in paintings.”
Expansion And Contraction In Detroit
As the Detroit Institute of the Arts plows ahead with a major expansion project, slated to be completed in 2006, the museum is also undergoing some major changes behind the scenes. Earlier this year, the DIA laid off 55 staffers, and now, a shuffling of curator positions is reportedly causing some grumbling. The curatorial changes will see some departments combined, and others expanded. Some longtime curators are being reassigned to positions which could be seen as less prominent. DIA’s chief curator says that the changes are merely meant to streamline the museum’s operations.
The Ethics Of The Biopic
At those times when truth is stranger than fiction, you can bet that Hollywood is going to want to make a movie about it. In fact, the film genre known as the ‘biopic’ – a movie based on the facts of a real life situation, but not necessarily adhering to them strictly – has gained increasing popularity with both filmmakers and moviegoers in recent years. But the subjects of these films are almost never compensated for having a fictionalized account of their lives playing at the multiplex. Worse yet, many media outlets sell the film rights to biographical articles, without ever consulting with the subject. It’s legal, sure, but is it ethical? More importantly, does anyone care?